Treating Insomnia

Treating Insomnia

Psychologists publish articles describing their research in periodicals called journals. One such study is titled, "Treating Insomnia with A self-Administered Muscle Relaxation Training Program: A Follow-Up by Roland Gustafson.

The study involved twelve women and ten men who were recruited by advertisements in a local Swedish newspaper, to take part in testing a new treatment for insomnia. This study explored whether simple self-administered relaxation training would help the subjects produce a state of relaxation to falling and staying asleep.

All of the subjects filled out an extensive clinical questionnaire. Twenty reported difficulties falling asleep, 17 staying asleep, 13 restless sleep, and 15 shallow sleep. On the average, the 22 subjects slept only 4 hours per night without sleeping pills and 6 hours per night with sleeping pills.

The treatment program consisted of a long and a short taped version of Jacobson's progressive relaxation training together with a second short version also containing a number of hypnotic suggestions which supposedly support the sleep process. The program also contained a booklet describing physical and mental tension, tension symptoms, and detailed training instructions.

Then the therapist met with all the participants in groups of three or four, and gave brief lectures describing different types of sleeping difficulties. The subjects were then sent home with instructions to practice relaxation at least once a day and once when trying to go to sleep. They were also required to keep a record of their training progress. In other words, the study was based on self-reports.

The follow-up one year after the start of the treatment indicated that 90% of the subjects had trained according to the instructions and that 82% reported a positive effect on sleep. 86% of the subjects reported that the treatment had been successful and that only 27% still felt in need of some more help.

It was concluded that self-administered relaxation training seems to be a cheap, convenient, and effective way of treating insomnia. However, in order for positive results, the participants need to be motivated and have a strong belief in the treatment method.

From this study, I gained more knowledge about insomnia. A friend of mine has insomnia and he has tried many treatments. They have

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